Trump’s Border-Czar Shakeup Fails to Cool Minneapolis Tensions as Immigration Crackdown Continues
MINNEAPOLIS — The Trump administration’s decision to replace its top immigration official in Minnesota and partially scale back federal enforcement has done little to ease fear or unrest across the Twin Cities, according to local officials, legal experts, and community leaders who say the mission remains unchanged despite a softer public tone.
Last week, President Donald Trump abruptly dispatched Tom Homan, his self-described “border czar,” to Minneapolis, sidelining senior border patrol official Gregory Bovino after weeks of escalating controversy tied to aggressive immigration raids and two fatal shootings involving U.S. citizens.
On Wednesday, Homan announced that roughly 700 federal immigration officers would be withdrawn from Minnesota, describing the move as an effort to de-escalate tensions while maintaining what he called a “public safety-focused” operation.
“Right now, we believe we can reduce the footprint,” Homan said, noting that approximately 2,000 federal immigration officers remain deployed in the state, more than ten times the usual staffing level.
Change in Leadership, Not in Strategy
The leadership change followed mounting backlash over the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in late January and the earlier killing of Renee Good, both of which intensified protests and scrutiny of federal immigration tactics. Bovino’s tenure was marked by highly visible raids in parking lots, homes, and city streets, operations critics described as indiscriminate and reliant on profiling.
Homan, a longtime immigration enforcement official, has sought to project a calmer posture, emphasizing coordination with state and local leaders, including Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and Attorney General Keith Ellison. But immigration experts say the apparent reset is largely cosmetic.
“The goals here are the same,” said David Bier, director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute. “It’s too soon to say whether enforcement has meaningfully changed. ICE continues aggressive and reckless behavior toward protesters and observers.”
Jail Cooperation Raises New Concerns
Central to Homan’s strategy is expanding ICE access to local jails — a long-standing objective aimed at increasing deportations while reducing street-level enforcement. He said Wednesday that “unprecedented collaboration” from county sheriffs allowed federal authorities to reduce their visible presence. Minnesota law, however, prohibits jails from holding individuals beyond their release time for ICE detainers. Homan insisted no county had been asked to violate that rule.
“We’re not asking anyone to be an immigration officer,” he said. “And we’re not asking any jail to hold someone one minute longer than they normally would.”
Advocates and attorneys remain unconvinced. They argue that even notification-only cooperation erodes trust between immigrant communities and law enforcement.
“The moment local officers are perceived as immigration agents, people stop cooperating,” said Javad Khazaeli, a former ICE national security prosecutor now practicing immigration and civil-rights law. “That hurts public safety.”
Federal Concessions, Persistent Fear
In a limited concession to critics, Homan said the administration plans to issue body-worn cameras to immigration officers nationwide, a long-standing demand from Democrats negotiating guardrails in a Department of Homeland Security funding bill. Trump, in a separate interview, acknowledged that the Minnesota operation showed he may need a “softer touch” on immigration enforcement, though he continued to repeat disputed claims about state cooperation with ICE. Walz called the drawdown “a step in the right direction” but said it fell short.
“We need a faster and larger reduction in federal forces,” he said, adding that state-led investigations into the recent killings must move forward.
Protests Continue on the Ground
Despite the announced changes, demonstrations across Minneapolis have continued nightly. Residents have organized vigils, mutual-aid networks, and neighborhood alert systems warning of immigration agents’ presence. Teachers, students, and immigrant families say fear remains widespread.
“Some people may have breathed a sigh of relief,” said Marcia Howard, president of the Minneapolis teachers’ union. “But many of us did not. The agenda is still the same.”
At a recent vigil near Pretti’s memorial on Nicollet Avenue, candles flickered in sub-zero temperatures as protesters voiced a shared concern: leadership may have changed, but the underlying policy, mass deportation, has not.
“We’re still not safe,” one activist told the crowd, a sentiment echoed across the Twin Cities as the federal crackdown grinds on.
